That would be the longest title I had posted so far, but didn’t that just get your attention?Yes, honey comes with bees, and somehow the moon and the bunny is related in reference to an old Chinese belief that the shadow on the moon is shaped like a rabbit making rice cakes!
We got back from a trip to KL and S’pore and we humbly admit that if we have loved our work a little bit more insanely, we couldn’t have pulled it off! Yes, we had to wait for more than two months to spend our honeymoon, but it was all worth it.
I wrote about watching a Rihanna concert in one of the airport restaurants and I think she’s got great talent. I never had a chance to watch her that closely before, although I’d admit, it took me a while to flush ‘umbrella’ out of my system with it’s Tagalog and Cebuan version. uhuh! I had miso soup that night and Ken helped himself to the evening paper.
It was a three-hour and so flight to KL. I was agonizing over a troubled stomach and probably embarassed ken coz i was stiffening up in pain that he had to almost get an attendant to attend to me being the center of attention.
SUNDAY – July 12, 2009 – KL & JB
We arrived early morning at LCCT (Airport) and took a bus to KL Central. It seemed like a short ride coz Ken and I were asleep during the whole ride. We were hesitant to get a taxi as early as 2am coz we were told by Mac that Puduraya and Bukit Bintang, where the backpackers hotels are, is just 8 kilometers away, and we could walk. But we don’t know to which direction. We gave in to the taxi driver and he was kind enough to take us to a hotel we were sure wasn’t fully booked. We thought July wasn’t peak season for tourists to Malaysia, but we were probably wrong seeing ‘fully booked’ signs posted up on hotel entrances. We couldn’t describe how sleepy and tired we were, but because the whole place was new, it kept our minds up.
We took a warm shower at around 3am, but the airconditioner was centralized, and we don’t have the controls for it. We tried to snuggle up under not so thick sheets and drowsed off till it was 9am.
We weren’t sure if we want a traditional Malay breakfast, but couldn’t even decide on what we want. After a quick shower, we went around the block and found ourselves enthralled with malls that were opening up from each corner of that block. Yes, we surely were in the middle of the Bukit Bintang area. The Times Square mall across from where we were standing was also opening, and seeing Starbucks and Papa John’s as a potential breakfast rendezvous, we first took pictures of the building and crossed the street, while a monorail train rolled above.
After we checked out a store after another, we decided to buy a sim card and called up our friends in Malaysia. We found a very familiar fast food resto and ordered. Their KFC had really good side ketchup and chili sauce. Since I wanted to check out my farm in facebook, Ken decided to confine me to a coffee table at Starbucks and settled me there with all our luggage while I wait for Mac, and while he check out Low Yat.
Mac finally came, and after a couple of hours of window shopping and chatting with him, we had to get moving. Mac’s car is a MyVi made by Perudua-a Malaysian car company, and he is might comfortable in it. He drove us near the bus station where we were going to catch a bus for Johore Bahru.
My! Purchasing the ticket was as easy as 1,2,3 but to wait for a bus wasn’t easy on our backs and feet.
It seemed like they over sold their tickets and there was just too many passengers that day. Their dispatchers were no different from our ‘barkers’ in the Philippines, only we couldn’t understand a word they were ‘barking’ on to their walkie-talkies. We had to follow the guy up across the road from the bus station like a mother duck with disoriented ducklings after being cooped up close to being baked inside a burrow. It was really warm. Luckily, there was a bus in coming from I don’t know where, and just before you’d say John Jacob Jingle Heimer Schmidt, Ken and I hopped on a couple of seats at the front. The bus was big and we were comfortable. We both were armed with a digital still camera and a videocam, so we took the leisure of shooting through the wide windshields. After a couple of toilet stopovers, we arrived Johore Bahru at around 10pm.
Abel, Vivian and their two-year-old Yena were there to meet us. The little girl immediately captivated both Ken and I and as opposed to her usual shyness meeting strangers, she was already trying to make a conversation with us.
The Banas reside in an apartment compound, up at a higher floor level, enjoying the wind and the breeze blowing through every day. From their window, we can see the skyline, and just a serene community with a few Filipinos who work in JB.
JULY 13, 2009 – MONDAY (Bana’s Residence and getting to Singapore)
Abel was already up earlier than any of us to hunt for a traditional Malay breakfast. It was Nasi Lemak for me, and Ken pick-eating on the sides with a cup of yogurt to satisfy him. We tried to go out and take some pictures of the sunrise but forgot to tell Vivian to unbolt the door-although we did enjoy the colors from our window angle that were part of the rising sun. We had worship while Yena was leading out in the songs and were soon downstairs taking pictures in their pool area. Yena wasn’t afraid to jump in the water, but her mom was holding her (coat) tail.
Johore Bahru is also a beautiful city, and while driving around, we enjoyed a little bit of their displayed architecture details although JB is booming with factories and big transporter trucks coming from both all directions.
The bus ride to Singapore was merely an hour, and we had to get off twice for immigration check. The AH1N1 flu virus is truly a scare in this area, something like from back home – and everywhere in the terminals, hand washing instructions, soap and hand sanitizers adorn toilets and sinks.
(Dickson Road, Singapore)
When we arrived at Kranji terminal, we took an MRT into the city of Singapore, and like turtles, had our belongings packed on our backs. At the train, Ken started talking to another Filipino and so we got to know Bernie Abella who was residing for 12 years in Singapore. He is also into photography and was sharing the interest with Ken. He gave us a tip on where to connect our train ride.
Rolling into Singapore and seeing the city was a pleasure. We started walking into the inner districts and tried to spot backpackers hotel, until we had to check into an internet café and check out the addresses. We found ourselves wandering in the streets of Little India.
We found Footprints Backpackers hotel and bistro. It was kind of cheap, but we had to share the room with other backpackers, with separate common bathrooms for men and ladies. After checking in –
…we were ready for Sentosa.
The picturesque nooks of the Island of Sentosa were countless. It was overwhelming to think that it was mostly man-made. We took pictures at the beach, climbed a wooden gazebo tower and wandered around. There were many shows available, but we resorted to the regular light show, said hello to the stingrays displayed outside the Underwater World and road their buggies and buses around the Island. Since the evening show wasn’t scheduled till a bit after 8pm, we tried the luge and the cable ride.
Snaphots after snapshots when by, and after some recorded footage, we ran to the open amphitheater to watch the story of a fish named Oscar.
Coming back on a short train ride to Vivo City, we strode along the business center of Singapore and asked around for directions. At last we could say hello to the Merlion. We took about a hundred more shots and took the last train to Little India.
Tuesday, July 12, 2009 – Singapore Flyer, Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari
Instead of getting ready to head back to KL, we decided to stay another day in Singapore. So our first itinerary for Tuesday is to ride the Singapore Flyer and get a 360 ride to get a bird’s eye view of Singapore. We grabbed lunch at Popeye’s and in minutes, we hopped on to the hatch because the wheel doesn’t stop for riders to mount. It just goes nonstop till it calls it a day. We grabbed a walkie-talkie thingamajig that gets you on a recorded tour as you refer to a map provided by the nice ladies at the entrance below. It’s a 30-minute ride and Ken and I got a hatch all to ourselves! But we couldn’t get enough of the view so for two-thirds of the time up there, each of us with a camera, we took shots and footages of city. It was neat, awesome and ‘tight’!
Ken got this promo package that includes an hour bus ride around the city, so soon after we hopped off from the rotating flyer, we headed to the second deck of a bus and again, risked ourselves to neck strain because you’ll have to look up and around. Regardless of the sun’s heat, Ken went to the back to get clear view for photo opps, and I stayed under a roof and held on to my Popeye’s.
Since there was no MRT that would take us straight to the Jurong Bird Park so we took a the bus that took us straight to the birds. One of our favorites was the family of hornbills and toucans. Two birds got too friendly with each other that they started to peck on the wall that was keeping them away from each other. There were definitely Filipino workers at the park, and although one spoke a bit of Tagalog to us, we were just a trivia to them. Our guess is that out of the hundreds of Filipinos that came to see the park, another pair of Pinoys that day is just a usual sight.
We also bought tickets to the night safari, but the bus left without us, so we had to go back to the city and get another bus to the safari, which was a cheaper option. The safari ride was a bit pricey for us, so we opted for the free shows. A Malay fire dance on the limelight. The dancers wanted him to dance, but I guess each one of them were talking many different things to him and it all happened so fast. It’s just good that they didn’t sear Ken’s tongue although they did send him back smelling like kerosene. There was an animal show where an Indian young lady was presenting. She became everyone’s instant favorite! The wolf was pretty, the Puma was captivating and the badger was shy. We got all worked up with the animals that the show was just too short.
We already soiled two Singapore City maps to this point, and my slipper strap broke. So I have to limp all the way to the bus and all the way to a discussion whether or not we want to go to the hotel to drop our cameras while I limp back and forth or head to Mustafa first to buy me a pair of slippers and agonize on the bulk of the two cameras.
Now help me decide.
Ahh! Too late! We decided just mount our cameras and strap ‘em on our backs and negotiate between the crowd and narrow aisles in Mustafa which actually took us a while to find. Iris told us about Mustafa and how so much stuff under the sun can be found there.
I wanted a pony!
Wednesday, July 15 – Footprints Backpacker’s Hotel and Bistro
Woke up at around 9.30 to two beds in our room already empty. We slept like a log not hearing the two other occupants pack up and leave.
We went to purchase tickets to KL at Lavender street and found our way to a bus that dropped us off Thomson Road. We met Erickson and Jackie Fabien, Debbie Chan and Lucy Ho and Pastor Simon Siew who took us to Thomson Plaza for lunch and got us a taxi back to the bus terminal for KL.
One of our passengers was an Indonesia seaman – based on our wildest guess, and he didn’t make it to the bus after we passed through Woodlands Immigration. We breathed a prayer for him that he’d be able to locate his stuff where the driver, on his own initiative, left it at the Transnational terminal in Johore Bahru. I was also stopped at the Malaysian immigration after my backpack passed through the scanner. Vivian sent her friends some chocolate and toiletries which she packed in a small paper bag. It looked very compact, therefore suspicious. But the security was kind. It was good the deuter bag had a bottom pocket where I don’t have to take everything including my undies out just to get to that bag.
Simon Siew had arranged that we stay with his brother and sis-in-law. We got to know their daughter, Amanda, and learned that she would be joining the missionary media in Malacca which is started by a group of Adventists (independent ministry) that gathers Chinese volunteers to produce religious Christian Mandarin radio programs. This would be the first batch to try out. Their son Elroy is staying with uncle Simon Siew in Singapore for his schooling in Marine Engineering. Jackson and Emelyn Siew operates their small business of pest control.
During our stop at a terminal for a meal, the bakeshop cashier asked if I was Chinese or Indonesian. That is just to confirm Ken telling me that I somehow look like one.
We were able to catch a glimpse of the KL tower and the Petronas Twin Towers.
To make it easier, we shall list what might whet the appetite after the wedding ceremony:
